I Forgive You
by Lady K2
Summary: Everything was exactly how it should be, how he'd always imagined it, but it didn't feel complete. Some angsty Aang with Kataang goodness to make it better and thoughts for the Gaang's future.


_Just a little ditty to pacify my sadness at the series being over. Enjoy. :) _

_Summary: Post Finale - Everything was exactly how it should be, how he'd always imagined it, but it didn't feel complete. Some angsty Aang with Kataang goodness to make it better and thoughts for the gaang's future._

_Disclaimer: All is property of Mike, Bryan, and Nick Studios. I own nothing. Thank goodness or I'd never let the series end! Muwahhh!_

**I Forgive You**

**By LadyK**

He couldn't sleep.

It had been over a week since the comet. Eight days since he defeated Ozai and saved the world. He should have been sleeping like a baby moose lion.

But he wasn't.

With a frustrated sigh he rolled on his back, staring at the ceiling of the Jasmine Dragon before he admitted defeat and got up. He slipped on his soft baggy brown pants, the ones he had snagged from the Fire Nation Island a few months back. He fancied his Nomad robes just fine, but they were simply too much clothing for the middle of the night, and he liked the cool night air on his skin. _Might help me sleep._ He thought hopefully.

He tip toed past his snoozing friends. Sokka was sprawled out on his back, snoring loudly with one arm around Suki who was curled up with her head on his chest completely oblivious to the horrendous noises escaping her boyfriend's mouth.

Toph was camped beneath one of the stone tables of the back room of the tea shop. She was offered a mat and sleeping bag like the rest of them, but she preferred the floor. Even though the possibility of being attacked seemed far away now, she claimed the hum of earth vibrations helped her sleep.

Zuko and Mai had retired to a double mat in the corner by the fire. Mai got cold easily, but judging from the way Zuko had wrapped her up in his arms she probably would be sweating by the time morning arose.

The image made Aang smile a bit. He was so incredibly grateful for his friends…_no, family._ He corrected, and his mind flashed on a memory that seemed from another lifetime.

_Sokka and I, we're your family now._

His throat tightened and his gaze was drawn to the sleeping mat not far from his own. She'd set it there on purpose. Being sly as Iroh handed out the mats and blankets and nonchalantly throwing hers next to Aang's with a coy smile.

He'd blushed furiously.

Although they had not announced their newly bloomed relationship, he was pretty sure Sokka would find out within the next few days (he hoped his head wouldn't meet the end of the warriors boomerang), and he knew Toph was aware. She'd punched his arm so hard he nearly fell over after he and Katara returned from their kiss on the balcony.

"Twinkle Toes." Was all she'd said, dragging out his nick name as she shook her head with a smile.

Aang sighed. He loved Katara with the glow of a thousand moons, but even her nearness couldn't bring peace to his mind tonight. He slipped outside almost silently. Momo and Appa were sleeping right outside. He patted Appa's big arrow gently.

"Sweet dreams buddy." He whispered before padding along the stones with bare feet to the balcony he and Katara had stood at earlier. He hopped onto the railing and sat down, dangling his legs of the edge.

He tried to think about what was bothering him, but he just couldn't understand it. The day had been perfect. It had been what they had fought so hard for. Why couldn't he revel in that like the others?

"Aang?"

The voice came from behind, and he didn't need to turn around to know it was hers. How many times had she sought him out like this over the past year?

"How do you always know?" He turned his head as she came up beside him, soft blue nightgown blowing a little in the breeze. "You were fast asleep."

She shrugged. "I don't know." She offered him a warm smile. "How come you can't sleep?"

He shrugged, looking out again over the giant Earth city and pulling his legs up to his chest. In his peripheral vision he saw her turn around and hoist herself onto the railing facing towards the shop.

"Did you have another nightmare?"

He shook his head.

"Are you worried about something?"

He thought for a second, still looking out. "No."

"Stressed?"

"Uh uh."

She frowned. "Then what's bothering you?" She placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's not about us is it?"

Now she had his attention. He turned his head toward her. "No." He said vehemently. "I mean, should I be?" His heart started racing.

Katara smiled softly and shook her head. "No."

He let out a breath of relief and turned back towards the city.

She watched him for a minute, hand slipping off his shoulder and gripping the cool stone of the railing. She kicked her feet back and forth a little, a quiet breeze brushing her hair forward as she looked down. "Aang," She finally said unable to take the silence. "Talk to me."

The airbender lowered his head and lets his legs fall back into the air. He let out another frustrated breath. "I don't know what to talk about. I don't know what's bothering me. Everything's exactly as I always hoped it would be. There isn't anything for me to be sad or worried or scared over. I have all that I've been fighting for, but I still feel…heavy."

Katara pursed her lips and listened carefully. She was becoming more comfortable with the way her heart literally felt connected to him. She'd noticed it for awhile, the way her chest ached when he was in pain, but she'd ignored it, fearing what it meant. Now that the threat of him being taken from her was gone, she had relaxed into the way she felt for him.

"Maybe it's just hard to relax into this. I mean, all you've really known since you came out of the iceberg is chaos and impending doom. You've had nothing but pressure put on you since you woke up. It just might take some time to get used to the calm." She smiled, hoping the tying of her experience to his would help him.

His shoulders slumped forward. "That's just it. It's only been a year, and yet it feels like a lifetime, several, in fact. Now that I'm not all wrapped up in defeating the Fire Lord, erm…I mean Ozai, I can't stop thinking about how much the world has changed." He paused; then jerked his head towards her. "Katara, I'm 112 years old! I remember the world back then, I remember…my people. I haven't had time to stop and think about them much but…"

"You miss them." She finished for him, and he nodded. She placed her hand over his. "Aang, you still have a family, you still have people…"

"It's not the same." He muttered bitterly. "And it's not just about me."

His words stung a bit and made her stomach clench. She knew in the back of her mind that she, her brother, and the others could never replace what he'd lost, but she had unrealistically hoped they could. Her desire to smooth over his pain was immense, but there was no way she could erase the loss of his entire race. She resisted the urge to reach up and clutch her chest, instead tightening her grip on his hand and deciding the best way to help him was not run from the topic. "I don't understand." She finally admitted.

"The world isn't four nations anymore. I'm not the only one who lost my people, everyone did, and all the future avatars will only know three types of bending." He slipped his hand out from under hers and put his face into them.

She instinctively reached out for him again, but stayed her hand. "Aang, you can't blame yourself…"

"I promised the people of this world I would make it up to them."

"And you did."

"Only partly. I helped end the war, but the damage has already been done Katara. One act doesn't erase the 100 years I've been hiding. I was selfish, and now this generation and all the ones after will never be the same."

"Aang, nothing ever stays the same, and it's always been that way, even before you were born. You can't control change."

Anger and hurt bruised his face as he turned away from her. She'd always helped him before, but he couldn't expect her to understand this. She wasn't the Avatar, she didn't feel his sense of duty, or his shame.

Her eyes reverted back to her feet after being greeted by the back of his head. "Sometimes I think your heart is too big. You don't give yourself enough credit."

"You think I deserve credit?" His head whipped back. "Defeating Ozai was nothing. It was a blip in the multitude of wrongs committed while I was away. Wrongs that I'll never be able to correct, no matter how hard I try! I don't know how the world can forgive me that!"

"I forgive you." She whispered so quietly he almost didn't hear it.

The shame and rage swirling inside him paused. The air grew still, and the tightness in his chest started to break. Tears began spilling down his face. He couldn't even find the strength to hold back a quiet sob as his shoulders started shaking.

Her soft hands took him in; arms wrapping around his shoulders and pulling him closer. "I forgive you." She whispered again, squeezing him tighter as his body wracked against hers and he buried his face into her hair.

She held him through his breakdown, taking the desperation, grief, and loneliness he felt as her own; knowing that it was too much for anyone to bear alone. It even overwhelmed her, but she could be strong because he needed her to be.

When the sobbing had stopped, and a calm quiet settled in, she stroked his back delicately, hand brushing the scar that marred his arrow. It was the hole left by the genocide of the airbenders, and he bore it all. She was so amazed by him; by his grace and love for others; his ability to show mercy for even the most horrific of villains. How he had managed to find a way to defeat Ozai without betraying the morals he stood for astounded her, and made her love him all the more.

"Aang." It suddenly dawned on her as she grappled with the dilemma he was spilling onto her nightgown. "Aang…I just thought of something."

The Air Nomad brought his head up slowly, eyes red and crystalline from the tears.

"I think…I think we all thought our mission would be over after we ended the war. The situation was so immediate, we couldn't really think of anything else."

He blinked, not sure where she was going. Hadn't that been what he'd been saying?

"But I understand why you're upset, and can't sleep, because your mission isn't over yet. You've brought peace to the world, but not balance."

"Katara…"

"So that has to be it. Our next challenge. We have to bring the Air Nomads back."

He screwed his face up in confusion. "But there isn't any way to do that. I mean, it's possible I could have children that were airbenders." He paused as a blush graced her cheeks and in spite of himself the corners of his lips curled to a momentary smile. "But that would be a pretty thin gene pool to build an entire nation on." He finished, bringing himself to sit upright fully and wiping at his cheeks. He expected her to deflate as much as he had, but to his surprise she was still smiling, even bigger than before.

"I know." She said calmly. "But you're forgetting about your new power."

"Huh?"

"You're a spirit bender now, remember? I mean, if you can take Ozai's bending away, isn't it reasonable to think you could give people bending abilities?"

His slowly returning gray eyes widened.

Her pace quickened as she formulated her idea aloud. "You once said that Teo and his people had the spirit of airbenders. What if we went searching for people that had such a spirit, and if they were open to it, you could give them air bending abilities, then teach and train them in the ways of your people. The Air Nomad culture could be restored in less than a decade." She smiled, unable to help herself. "And then maybe you'll get some sleep."

Aang chuckled lightly. Her worlds twirling in his mind as he toyed with the possibility. _By the spirits she has a point!_ He thought, heart leaping up into his throat with hope, but it stopped as something dawned on him. He looked up at her with serious eyes. "You said we."

"Hmmm?" Katara tilted her head to the side curiously.

A new kind of smile graced his lips. "You said we. What if _we_ went searching for people…that's what you said."

The waterbender's brow furrowed. "Yeah? And?"

"Don't you want to go home to your family Katara? Aren't you tired of always being on the go?"

She chuckled. "Aang, didn't I tell you a year ago that we are family? Nothing's changed."

"But you said everything changes." He raised an eyebrow playfully.

"Well," She smiled sheepishly. "They do. When I said family back then, I meant something different." She looked at him with rouge tint returning to her cheeks. "Now, I mean this." She leaned forward and chastely put her lips on his. Her hand reached up to cup his cheek as he opened for her and she tilted her head to grant total access. She felt his hands snake around her waist and pull her to him. When he released her mouth, her eyes were still closed, but she smiled contentedly.

"I think I like change." He said teasingly.

"I think I like this balcony." She giggled as her eyes finally opened.

"So it's settled then?" He said with a smile, about to kiss her again when…

"No! Nothing's settled! What in Yue's name are you doing to my sister!"

Katara's face dropped and Aang managed to turn two more shades of white.

"Umm…" Aang started to explain, but Katara interrupted him.

"Seriously Sokka. As if you didn't know."

The warrior reared back aghast. "I didn't!" His voice squeaked. "When did this happened!" He approached Aang rapidly and the Avatar removed his hands so quickly he started pin wheeling.

Katara's hand shot out and grabbed Aang's wrist, stabling him back on the railing. "About 6 months ago when he fought the volcano. Besides, I thought you liked Aang. You said so yourself that you grew to love him."

"Not as much as you did apparently!"

She looked at Aang and both started laughing. "I hope not!" She let go of Aang's hand and leaped down, walking up to her brother who was looking rather sheepish at his mix of words, but still struggling with how he felt about this new development. "Sokka, just get over it. We have a new mission to go on anyways, so you're just going to have to get used to it."

"What?" The Water Warrior's voice croaked again as his mind struggled to follow.

Katara turned around to face Aang with a proud smile. "Aang's going to bring back the airbenders, and we're going to help him."

"Huh?" Sokka still looked confused. "Wait…when you say help. Doesn't that mean he…and you…" He stormed up to Aang, looking as threateningly as he could his underwear. "NOT ON YOUR LIFE BUDDY!"

Aang leaned backward trying to avoid the pointing finger at his neck.

Katara smacked her forehead. "Sokka! That's not what I meant! Ugh." She walked over and snaked her brother's hand away from her boyfriend. "I'll explain it later. Let's just go back to bed."

He reluctantly followed, looking extremely lost and not at all sure of what was going on. His sister patted his arm gently as she led him back into the tea shop. "It's ok Sokka. You just go back to Suki and all will be explained later."

He nodded, eyes drooping and becoming half dreamy at the mention of Suki. He shuffled back to his sleeping mat, Katara letting his arm slip from hers. He laid his head on his pillow, arm wrapping around his beloved and almost purring softly.

"That's a good brother. Sleep tight, and don't worry, Aang and I won't have children for at least a few more years." She giggled as she walked out and heard a loud "WHAT!?"

She was going to enjoy razzing him about this.

Aang looked at her as she stood in the doorway. He put a hand behind his head shyly. "Is…is it safe?"

Katara laughed and held out a hand to him. "Yeah. Don't worry. He'll forgive you by morning. Now common, let's get some sleep."

_Hope you liked. I appreciate the reviews, thoughts, adds, and all that goodness. I really like that word...goodness. Hehe. :) _


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